BUREAU  OF  INTERNATIONAL  RELATIONS 
JAPAN  SOCIETY  OF  AMERICA 


JAPAN’S  MESSAGE  TO  AMERICA 
AND  AMERICA’S  REPLY 

BY 

THE  REV.  C.  F.  AKED,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

e 

A Sermon  Preached  in 

THE  FIRST  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH 

OF  SAN  FRANCISCO 

Sunday  Evening,  December  20,  1914 


JANUARY  1,  1915  BULLETIN  No.  3 

ROOM  507,  ORIENT  BUILDING 
332  PINE  STREET,  SAN  FRANCISCO,  CALIFORNIA 


THE  JAPAN  SOCIETY  OP  AMERICA. 


“The  object  of  this  Society  shall  be  to  collect  and 
publish  information  on  subjects  relating  to  the  Em- 
pire of  Japan;  to  foster  and  encourage  a cordial 
relationship  between  the  peoples  of  America  and  of 
Japan;  to  cultivate  and  spread  a knowledge  of  the 
arts  and  industries  of  Japan,  together  v/ith  its  lang- 
uage, history,  folklore-  and  customs;  and  to  these 
ends  to  hold  exhibitions  from  time  to  time ; to  invite 
lecturers  and  to  convene  meetings  for  informal  dis- 
cussions. ’ ’ — Constitution. 


Membership,  $5.00  per  year. 
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an 


JAPAN’S  MESSAGE  TO  AMERICA  AND 
AMERICA’S  REPLY 

Know  therefore  that  they  that  are  of  faith,  the  same 
are  sons  of  Abraham,  Galatians  3 ; 7. 

How  good  an  American  dare  you  be?  To  what 
extent  dare  you  own  your  Americanism,  live  up  to 
your  Americanism,  and  embody  your  principles  in 
your  practices?  How  good  an  American  dare  you  be? 

But  before  you  answer.  What  is  an  American  ? 
You  cannot,  of  course,  say,  “one  who^  is  born  on 
American  soil.  ’ ’ History,  tradition,  constitution,  and 
law  would  all  contradict  you.  With  a large  hospi- 
tality, this  nation  tells  the  people  of  Europe  and  of 
many  other  parts  of  the  world  that  after  a residence 
here  of  only  five  years  and  after  passing  the  most 
elementary  examination  they  may  become  Ameri- 
cans, entitled  to  all  the  rights  which  go  with  Ameri- 
can citizenship  and  all  the  splendor  of  the  name. 
The  American  who  is  born  an  American  may  be  less 
an  American  than  the  one  who  is  not.  Americanism 
is  of  the  spirit.  You  may  be  a Native  Son  of  the 
Golden  West  or  a Native  Daughter  or  a Colonial 
Dame  or  a Son  of  the  Revolution  a hundred  times 
over  and  then,  if  you  are  narrow,  reactionary, 
unsympathetic,  with  no  passion  for  freedom  in  your 


4 Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply 


soul  and  no  love  of  humankind,  you  are  no  good 
American.  While  he  is  an  American,  wheresoever 
born,  who  has  an  American  heart,  who  loves  liberty, 
cherishes  the  principles  upon  which  this  Republic  is 
built,  will  live  and  if  need  be  die  in  the  determination 
that  government  of  the  people,  for  the  people,  by  the 
people  shall  not  perish  off  this  earth. 

Now,  how  good  an  American  dare  you  be? 

But  wait ! For  I want  you  to  see  that  the  teaching 
of  America  about  Americanism  is  the  teaching  of  the 
New  Testament  about  things  spiritual  and  eternal. 
And  listen  to  this  text : Know  therefore  that  they 
that  are  of  faith,  the  same  are  sons  of  Abraham.  You 
know  what  is  the  pride  of  the  Jew  in  his  own 
descent.  Sons  of  Abraham — it  is  magnificent ! In 
the  eye  of  the  Jew  there  is  no  such  lineage  in  the 
entire  story  of  man’s  troubled  life  upon  this  planet. 
Sons  of  Abraham — you  cannot  deepen  nor  heighten 
the  romance  and  grandeur  of  this.  But  the  word 
of  Scripture  is  that  the  true  children  of  Abraham  are 
not  they  who  are  linked  on  with  him  in  a chain  of 
flesh  and  blood  but  they  who  share  the  spirit  that  was 
in  him. 

And  it  is  not  only  Paul  who  speaks  in  this  way. 
John  Baptist,  the  typical  reformer,  threatening  an 
axe  laid  at  the  root  of  trees  which  had  stood  for 
centuries,  thunders  to  the  pick  and  flower  of  Jewish 
aristocracy:  “ThinJc  not  to  say  within  yourselves 
‘We  have  Abraham  to  our  father,’  for  I say  unto 


Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply  5 


you  that  God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  chil- 
dren unto  Abraham”  as  though  one  should  say  to 
men  and  women  who  pride  themselves  upon  their 
Americanism  and  are  destitute  of  the  American 
spirit:  “I  say  unto  you  that  God  is  able  of  Asiatics 
and  Africans  to  raise  up  better  Americans  than 
you.” 

Shall  I quote  to  you  One  infinitely,  quite  infinitely, 
higher  than  John  Baptist  and  that  great-hearted 
Paul?  Listen  to  the  words  of  our  Lord:  “I  say  unto 
you,  that  many  shall  come  from,  the  east  and  the  west 
and  shall  sit  down  xvith  Abraham  and  Isaac  and 
Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.”  I dare  add  noth- 
ing to  these  unsurpassable  words  except  to  remind 
you  of  the  vision  of  Zwinglius  of  “that  future  as- 
sembly of  all  the  saintly,  the  heroic,  the  faithful,  and 
the  virtuous,”  wherein,  as  he  believed,  “Abel  and 
Enoch,  Noah  and  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  should 
meet  with  Socrates,  Aristides,  and  Antigonus,  with 
Hercules,  with  Theseus,  and  the  Catos,,  in  the  home 
v/here  every  good  man  who  has  ever  lived  will  be 
present  with  his  God.” 

So  now, — How  good  an  American  dare  you  be  ? In- 
deed, but  I would  ask, — How  good  a Christian  dare 
you  be?  To  what  extent  are  you  ready  to  square 
your  deeds  with  your  words  ? 

I am  driven  to  ask  these  questions  after  reading 
a volume  entitled:  “Japan  to  America,”  a volume 


6 Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply 


recently  published.  Though  it  contains  thirty-five 
distinct  “messages”  to  the  American  people,  these 
make  up  one  single  “Message.”  It  is  written  by  the 
leading  men  of  Japan.  Great  names  are  here.  The 
infiuential  leaders  of  thought  in  Japan  address  them- 
selves to  the  people  of  this  Republic.  Statesmen,  dip- 
lomats, bankers,  merchants,  editors,  educators,  pub- 
licists of  various  kinds,  led  by  Count  Okuma  himself, 
the  Grand  Old  Man  of  Japan,  speak  to  you.  They  are 
entitled  to  a hearing.  They  are  entitled  to  a reply. 

This  “Message”  reveals: 

1.  An  intimate  knowledge,  in  itself  most  remark- 
able, of  American  history  and  American  literature  and 
of  the  American  spirit. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  give  many  illustrations. 
One  or  two  must  serve.  There  is,  for  instance,  the 
statement  of  Viscount  Kaneko,  who  has  held  great 
positions  in  official  and  diplomatic  circles,  who  has 
received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Harvard 
— the  highest  degree  which  an  American  university 
can  bestow  upon  one  whom  it  delights  to  honor.  Vis- 
count Kaneko  says  that  in  his  boyhood  he  read  the 
life  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  and  that  since  boyhood 
the  words  spoken  to  young  Hamilton  by  his  mother 
when  she  lay  dying  have  been  his  constant  guide. 
Before  I quote  them  I put  it  to  you:  How  many 
of  you  are  familiar  with  the  life-story  of  Alexander 
Hamilton,  the  friend  of  Washington,  the  real  maker 
and  builder  of  our  Federal  Constitution  f How  many 


Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America’s  Reply  7 


of  you  know  what  Hamilton’s  mother  on  her  death- 
bed said  to  the  future  statesman?  These  words  have 
been  to  the  Japanese  statesman  his  “constant  guide,” 
and  he  says  that  he  wishes  to  see  them  adopted  by 
young  Japan:  “My  son,  never  aim  at  the  second 
best.  It  is  not  worthy  of  you.  Your  powers  are  in 
harmony  with  the  everlasting  principle  of  the  uni- 
verse.” 

How  many  different  biographies  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  are  there  on  your  shelves  ? Answer  quickly, — ■ 
Which  amongst  them  are  your  favorites?  There  are 
six  biographies  of  Lincoln  in  Japanese.  Anecdotes 
of  George  Washington  are  inserted  in  the  text-books 
of  the  elementary  schools.  A Japanese  editor  who 
writes  one  of  the  chapters  in  this  volume  says  that 
the  eloquence  of  Webster  and  of  Patrick  Henry  is  a 
fact  as  familiar  to  Japanese  men  and  women  as  the 
loyalty  of  their  own  General  Nogi.  The  autobiog- 
raphy of  Benjamin  Franklin  is  used  in  many  schools 
as  a text-book  of  English. 

And  so  the  story  goes.  What  may  even  appeal  to 
you  is  the  anti-climax — though  it  v/ill  not  seem  so  to 
many  of  you — that  “Among  our  boys  your  Wagner, 
Cobb,  McGraw,  Mathewson,  have  won  an  admiration 
bordering  on  worship.”  The  baseball  hero  becomes 
an  apostle  of  cosmopolitanism ! 

2.  Abounding  gratitude  for  the  friendship  of 
America. 

Here  is  a great  fact  made  manifest.  The  gratitude 


8 Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply 


is  full;  it  is  coercive.  It  is  no  soft  sentimentality; 
it  is  strong  and  sane.  It  is  grounded  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  what  the  United  States  has  been  to  Japan 
through  fifty  years  of  history.  It  is  not  an  exagger- 
ation to  say  that  the  feeling  of  some  of  the  best  men 
in  Japan  toward  America  is  that  of  a younger  brother 
to  an  elder  brother,  respected,  admired,  loved. 

3.  Ridicule  of  the  scare-mongers. 

You  ought  to  familiarise  yourself  with  those  parts 
of  the  “Message”  which  express  the  astonishment 
of  Japanese  thinkers  in  presence  of  the  foolish  scare- 
talk  of  some  Americans.  I suppose  that  a person  of 
British  blood  would  not  be  allowed  to  live  in  this 
country  if  he  suggested  doubts  concerning  the  Amer- 
ican sense  of  humor.  Yet  it  is  permitted  to  a person 
like  myself  to  wonder  what  peculiarity  of  American 
humor  it  is  which  leads  Americans  to  put  their  sense 
of  humor  in  a strong-box  and  forget  all  about  it ! 
Can  you  not  see  that  this  scare-talk  makes  us  ridi- 
culous? If  the  Japanese  does  not  laugh  at  us  it  is 
not  because  his  sense  of  humor  is  undeveloped ; it  is 
because  of  his  native  courtesy ! The  head  of  one  of 
the  great  shipping  lines  of  Japan  remarks  simply: 
“There  are  some  Americans  who  often  publicly 
speak  of  the  possibility  of  a Japanese- American  war. 
Such  nonsense  is  never  entertained  in  Japan.  I hear 
that  in  America  the  ship-builders,  to  get  orders  for 
battleships,  fabricate  falsehoods  and  cause  a great 
deal  of  talk  and  discussion  as  to  America  ’s  need  of 


Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply  9 


more  battleships  to  prepare  for  war  with  Japan.  I 
do  not  know  the  truth  of  this.”  The  President  of 
the  Nippon  Yusen  Kaisha  knows  things  about  Amer- 
ica that  Americans  ought  to  know ! 

4.  Protestation  of  pain  caused  by  the  policy  of  pin 
pricks. 

Aggression  there  has  been  none  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States.  Violence  there  has  been  none.  But 
the  policy  of  pin  pricks  has  been  adopted,  if  not  by 
the  United  States,  at  least  by  our  own  state  of  Cali- 
fornia. In  the  last  two  sessions  of  the  Legislature 
not  fewer  than  fifty-one  anti- Japanese  Bills  were  in- 
troduced. The  one  that  carried,  the  Alien  Land  Act, 
was  by  no  means  the  worst  of  those  introduced ; in- 
deed, it  was  mild  compared  with  many  of  them. 
Anti-Japanese  legislation  of  one  sort  or  another  has 
been  proposed  year  by  year  for  the  last  ten  years, 
and  the  speeches  made  are,  if  possible,  worse  than 
the  measures  proposed. 

5.  Becognition  of  danger  in  this. 

Let  there  be  no  mistake  as  to  the  language  em- 
ployed by  these  distinguished  Japanese  writers  nor 
as  to  the  spirit  which  actuates  them.  There  is  noth- 
ing here  in  the  nature  of  a threat,  nothing  remotely 
resembling  a threat.  There  is  no  wild  talk.  There 
is  a grave,  serious,  and  even  humiliated  recognition 
of  the  fact  that  this  sort  of  thing  is  provocative,  that 
human  nature  being  what  it  is,  and  Japanese  human 
nature  being  what  it  is,  a policy  of  insult,  which 


10  Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply 


seems  to  be  deliberately  conceived  in  the  spirit  of 
insult  for  the  purpose  of  insult,  is  dangerous  to  every- 
body concerned.  I do  not  desire  to  insist  npon  this 
in  trying  to  reprodnce  the  essential  parts  of  the 
Japanese  “Message”  lest  you  should  mistake  my 
views  for  the  views  of  Japanese  writers.  I will  re- 
turn to  it  in  a moment. 

6.  An  earnest  desire  for  good  understanding  and 
permanent  friendship. 

Like  the  gratitude  already  discussed,  this  desire 
is  sincere  and  deep.  Japan  desires  nothing  more  sin- 
cerely than  she  desires  the  continiianee  of  friendship 
and  the  deepening  of  friendship  with  America.  Her 
interests  point  in  this  direction.  Her  sympathies, 
admirations,  hopes,  all  compel  her  to  deplore  the 
suggestion  of  strained  relations  between  the  two 
countries,  all  lead  her  to  this  expression  of  what  is 
nothing  less  than  a longing  for  friendship  between 
the  Empire  of  Japan  and  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica. happy  for  both,  honorable  to  both,  tending  to 
the  peace  and  progress  of  our  western  world. 

What  reply  must  America  give? 

I beg  you  to  weigh  well  your  answer.  This  matter 
is  too  important  for  you  to  pass  it  by  lightly.  It  is 
world-great  in  its  issues.  Does  any  human  being 
between  the  Pacific  and  the  Atlantic  desire  to  pre- 
cipitate a conflict  between  the  United  States  and 
Japan?  Does  any  American,  not  an  actual  maniac 


Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply  11 


for  war,  desire  to  see  the  United  States  enter  into 
the  world-conflict  which  is  now  raging?  There  is  a 
microbe  of  war  in  the  air.  The  nations  have  been 
infected.  Fever  is  high.  Delirium  has  set  in.  War 
has  become  epidemic.  Can  you  contemplate  without 
horror  the  thought  of  estrangement  in  this  evil  hour, 
the  estrangement  of  the  United  States  and  Japan, 
with  all  the  hideous  consequences  which  would  fol- 
low? I was  careful  not  to  put  this  too  plainly  when 
quoting  to  you  the  recognition  of  danger  made  mani- 
fest by  the  “Message.”  But  now  for  myself  I de- 
clare that  this  is  one  of  the  most  important  questions 
before  the  mind  of  the  whole  world  to-day,  and  it 
may  be  that  those  who  come  after  us  will  see  that 
it  is  absolutely  the  most  important  for  the  future  of 
mankind.  A spark  cast  by  a madman  has  set  Europe 
ablaze.  Is  there  an  American  so  mad  as  to  risk  set- 
ting fire  to  the  rest  of  the  world? 

In  what  mood  shall  we  answer  this  “Message”? 

Not,  certainly,  in  the  spirit  of  a reply  made  by  one 
of  our  own  San  Francisco  newspapers  to  a pamphlet 
issued  last  year  by  Dr.  Soyeda,  “A  Survey  of  the 
Japanese  Question  in  California.”  The  Hon.  Juichi 
Soyeda  is  a scholar  and  a master  of  affairs.  He  has 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He  was  trained  at 
Cambridge  and  at  Heidelberg.  He  has  been  presi- 
dent of  great  banking  institutions.  He  distinguished 
himself  in  the  Japanese  scheme  of  monetary  reform. 
A little  more  than  a j'^ear  ago,  during  the  excited  dis- 


12  Japan’s  Message  to  America  and  America’s  Reply 


eussion  of  the  Japanese  question  in  California,  he 
came  to  this  city  eredentialed  by  the  Associated 
Chambers  of  Commerce  in  Japan.  He  wrote  the 
“Survey”  and  published  it.  I have  it  here;  but  you 
can  see  for  yourself  that  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
read  to  you  these  fourteen  pages  of  carefully  rea- 
soned argument  and  appeal.  I can  only  tell  you 
that  it  is  written  in  faultless  English.  It  is  my  busi- 
ness to  use  words,  and  I should  be  quite  satisfied  if 
at  the  end  of  my  life  I knew  that  I had  never  used 
English  words  less  effectively  in  writing  or  in  speech. 
Well,  here  is  the  comment  upon  it  in  one  of  our 
papers : 

“It  is  with  thankfulness,  gratitude,  humility  and  a 
deep  sense  of  being  properly  rebuked  that  we  receive 
this  fulmination  of  the  Hon.  Juichi.  We  shall  not 
selfishly  enjoy  this  feast  of  reason  and  flow  of  language 
alone.  At  least  half  of  it  shall  be  fed  to  the  office  cat — 
may  his  venerable  whiskers  flourish  for  ever!  The 
other  moiety  will  be  forwarded  to  a noted  pro- Japanese 
American  statesman,  who  engages  in  lecturing,  breeding 
doves,  and  Secretarying  of  State  with  equal  grace, 
facility  and  financial  success.  In  a general  way.  Honor- 
able Pamphlet  informs  us  that  Honorable  Japanese  is 
truly  morally  superior  to  unfortunate  American  inhab- 
Itableness,  being  truth,  firmness,  uprightness  and  faith- 
fulness in  gentlemen’s  agreement,  therefore  is  perfectly 
agreeable  to  naturalisation  and  intermarriage,  which 
afford  happy  solution  to  Honorable  Immigration  Ques- 
tion not  yet  impacted  upon  yellow  American  press.’' 


Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America’s  Reply  13 


What  do  you  think  of  that?  Will  you  try  to 
imagine  some  man  of  distinction  in  our  own  country, 
famous  in  scholarship,  famous  in  finance,  famous  in 
public  service,  honored  for  his  integrity,  for  his 
ability,  for  his  achievements,  sent,  let  us  say,  to  Ger- 
many— before  the  war — with  a message  of  good  will, 
accredited,  if  that  were  possible,  by  all  the  Cham- 
bers of  Commerce  of  the  United  States,  writing  in 
faultless  German  and  in  excellent  spirit  “A  Survey 
of  the  American  Question  in  Germany”?  What 
should  you  say  if  a newspaper  in  Berlin  or  Hamburg 
received  it  with  these  brutal  comments?  What  should 
you  say  about  German  Barbarians?  What  is  sauce 
for  the  goose  is  sauce  for  the  gander ! If  you  would 
think  it  despicable  on  the  part  of  a German  news- 
paper, what  is  it  when  a journal  of  our  own  does  it? 
I have  no  hesitation  in  answering  some  of  my  own 
questions.  The  man  who  offers  so  wanton  and  un- 
provoked an  insult  to  a distinguished  visitor,  who, 
out  of  no  cause  in  the  world  except  the  badness  of 
his  own  disposition,  recklessly  stirs  up  bad  blood 
between  two  nations  like  the  United  States  and 
Japan,  does  deeper  dishonor  to  America  than  they 
did  who  fifty  years  ago  fired  on  the  flag. 

If  we  are  to  make  to  this  “Message”  a reply 
worthy  of  ourselves,  the  first  practical  thing  to  do  is 
to  free  ourselves  from  bondage  to  illusion;  and  to 
begin  with,  from  bondage  to  what  I may  without 


14  Japan’s  Message  to  Avierica  and  America's  Reply 


offence  call  the  California  scare. 

For  what  are  the  facts?  All  the  land  owned  by 
Japanese  in  California  in  1909  (when  the  state  in- 
vestigation was  made)  amounted  to  less  than  11,000 
acres,  and  all  the  land  leased  to  less  than  110,000 
acres — in  all  about  120,000  acres  in  the  hands  of 
Japanese.  This  in  a state  which  is  one-third  bigger 
than  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Wales  together; 
in  a state  which  has  28,000,000  acres,  of  which 
12,000,000  acres  are  already  under  cultivation!  All 
the  land  owned  and  leased  by  Japanese  in  California, 
it  has  been  said,  could  be  put  amongst  the  Miller  & 
Lux  ranches  and  lost  in  the  shuffle. 

In  all  California  there  are  not  more  than  42,000 
Japanese  men,  women,  and  children.  Between  1909 
and  1912  the  departures  of  Japanese  from  California 
have  outnumbered  the  arrivals  by  nearly  7,000. 

When  you  reduce  the  “Japanese  Question”  to  its 
proper  proportions,  when  you  cease  to  exaggerate 
it  and  make  a bogie  of  it,  how  does  it  look  to  you? 
Are  you  not  a little  ashamed  of  the  scare  ? 

Then  there  is  the  national  illusion.  It  was  the 
Kaiser  who,  twenty  years  ago,  invented  the  phrase: 
“The  Yellow  Peril.”  The  Kaiser’s  phrase  was 
quickly  amplified  by  British  writers  into:  “The 
threatening  swarms  of  the  yellow  races.  ’ ’ In  Europe 
we  were  asked  to  picture  some  900,000,000  of  Asiatics 
— there  or  thereabouts,  a few  hundreds  of  millions 
more  or  less  made  little  difference  in  our  imagina- 


Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply  15 


tion — we  were  asked  to  picture  these  “swarming” 
over  Europe.  I suppose  they  would  first  have 
‘ ‘ swarmed  ’ ’ over  America ! There  is  one  funda- 
mental fallacy — if  a scare  of  this  kind  deserves  to 
be  regarded  as  a fallacy  and  seriously  reasoned 
about.  The  scare  to  possess  any  searing  quality 
has  to  assume  that  Asia  can  and  would  unite.  Asia 
unite ! Unite  Turkey  and  Italy,  unite  Germany  and 
France,  unite  Europe  today — that  is  an  easy  task 
compared  with  the  work  of  some  Asiatic  statesman 
who  is  going  to  “unite  Asia!” 

Not  less  ludicrous  is  the  idea  that  Japan  could 
transport  that  threatened  army  of  a million  men 
which  we  shall  wake  up  some  fine  morning  to  find 
landed  upon  our  shores ! It  took  Great  Britain  nine 
months  to  transport  200,000  men  with  their  horses 
and  equipment  to  South  Africa.  It  required  351 
outward  voyages.  Calculations  made  by  American 
naval  authorities  curiously  reproduce  these  figures. 
They  find  that  they  would  need  19  transports  of  over 
5,000  tons  burden  to  transport  over-seas  12,500  men 
with  necessary  equipment.  This  works  out  at  152 
transports  for  100,000  men — nearly  one-half  of  the 
351  employed  by  Great  Britain  to  transport  200,000. 
For  the  million  men  which  are  to  be  hurled  upon 
American  shores — “hurled”  is  the  correct  word,  I 
believe — Japan  would  need  1,520  transports  of  more 
than  5,000  tons  each.  She  happens  to  possess  thirty- 
two  ! And  what  of  the  fieet,  the  cruisers,  the  dread- 


16  Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply 


noughts,  the  submarines,  and  the  Zeppelins  that 
would  be  needed  to  convoy  such  a fleet  of  transports 
to  our  shores.* 

Dismissing  these  absurdities  we  come  to  the  fear 
that  unless  a restriction  is  imposed  upon  Asiatic  im- 
migration we  shall  be  overwhelmed  by  cheap  labor, 
the  standard  of  living  will  be  lowered,  and  the  very 
form  of  our  civilisation  changed. 

Considering  that  we  are  here  because  we  blotted 
out  the  red  men  we  will  not  press  the  question  as  to 
the  right  of  any  people  to  pre-empt  a part  of  the 
earth’s  surface  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others.  We 
will  simply  accept  as  a fact  the  elementary  proposi- 
tion that  a nation  claims  the  right  and  power  to 
determine  for  itself  the  number  of  persons  it  will 
admit  to  citizenship,  the  conditions  under  which  it 
will  admit  them,  and,  in  a word,  the  character  of  its 
own  civilisation.  For  good  reason  the  United  States 
has  decided  that  it  is  unable  to  receive  the  conceiv- 
ably possible  hosts  of  Asiatics  who  might  seek  the 
hospitality  of  this  country.  With  this  view  Japan 
must  sympathise. 

We  have  not  yet  shown  ourselves  able  to  cope  suc- 
cessfully with  the  race  issues  already  presented  to 
us.  We  have  the  Negro  question.  The  curse  of 
slavery  is  not  wholly  blotted  out.  Some  effects  re- 

*Taken  from  “The  American-Japanese  Problem,”  by  Sidney 
L.  Gulick. 


Japan’s  Message  to  America  and  America’s  Reply  17 


main.  In  the  providence  of  God  it  has  been  ordained 
that  no  man  can  put  a chain  round  his  brother’s 
ankle  without  finding  sooner  or  later  the  other  end 
of  the  chain  round  his  own  neck.  Negro  slavery  was 
not  originally  sought  by  the  American  people.  It 
was  forced  upon  the  Southland.  Later  the  South 
acquiesced  in  its  existence  and  sought  to  maintain  it. 
South  and  North  have  made,  are  making,  will  con- 
tinue to  make,  hei'oic  and  splendid  efforts  to  meet  in 
a spirit  of  righteousness  all  the  difficulties  which  the 
past  has  handed  down  to  the  present.  But  there  it 
is : the  adjustment  is  not  yet  made.  There  are  prob- 
lems to  solve ; there  are  questions  to  answer ; there 
are  difficulties  to  be  met ; there  are  wrongs  to  put 
right.  And  we  may  be  forgiven  if  we  say  that  we  do 
not  want  another  race  question  thrust  upon  us.  I am 
not  suggesting  that  there  is  no  difference  between 
Africans  brought  here  as  slaves  and  Asiatics  coming 
here  as  free  immigrants.  There  is  a difference.  But 
the  fact  remains  that  the  one  constitutes  for  us  a 
difficulty  great  enough.  We  do  not  want  another. 

Yet  we  have  another.  We  have  many  others. 
There  are  masses  of  unassimilated  foreigners  amongst 
us,  and  these,  unless  we  are  both  wise  and  lucky,  may 
indeed  lower  the  standard  of  American  living.  Three 
or  four  times  lately  I have  quoted  to  you  a striking 
work,  “The  Old  World  in  the  New,”  by  Prof.  Ross 
of  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  If  I could  persuade 
every  man  and  woman  amongst  you  to  read  it  I am 


18  Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply 


certain  that  you  would  rise  from  your  study  with  a 
solemn  sense  of  the  vastness,  even  of  the  terror,  of 
this  matter  of  the  unassimilated  alien.  Let  me  leave 
out  the  name  of  the  particular  nationality  referred 
to  so  as  not  to  arouse  any  feeling  and  quote  to  you 
Dr.  Ross’  description  of  a typical  colony: 

“The  core  of  the  large  settlement  is  likely  to  be  a 
rancid  hit  of  the  Old  World.  Clerical  domination  to  a 
degree  not  tolerated  among  other  Roman  Catholics,  a 
stately  church  overlooking  mean  farm-houses,  numerous 
church  holidays,  a tiny  public  school,  built  wholly  out 
of  State  grant,  with  a sister  in  the  garb  of  her  order  as 
schoolmistress,  a big  parish  school,  using  only  their 
own  language  and  teaching  chiefly  the  catechism,  a 
high  illiteracy  and  a dense  ignorance  among  lads  born 
on  American  soil,  crimes  of  violence  rather  than  crimes 
of  cunning,  horror  of  water  applied  inside  or  outside, 
aversion  to  fresh  air,  barefoot  women  at  work  in  the 
fields,  with  wretched  housekeeping  as  the  natural  result, 
saloons  patronised  by  both  sexes,  the  priest  frequently 
urging  his  flock  ‘to  have  as  many  children  as  God  will 
give  them,’  much  reluctant  motherhood,  early  death 
from  excessive  child-bearing,  large  families  brought  up 
by  the  third,  fourth,  or  fifth  wife,  harsh  discipline  of 
children,  political  apathy,  a controlled  vote,  and  an  open 
contempt  for  Americans  and  their  principles.” 

There  are  two  millions  of  these  people  in  America 
and  they  are  still  coming.  When  I was  in  New  York 
General  Bingham,  the  Commissioner  of  Police,  said 
that  in  that  city  there  were  not  fewer  than  three 
thousand  desperadoes  from  another  European  conn- 


Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply  19 


try;  medigeval.  criminals,  he  called  them,  who  must 
be  dealt  with  under  the  forms  of  American  law.  And 
for  a thousand  facts  to  give  us  pause  we  must  turn 
to  the  pages  of  Dr.  Ross. 

Everybody  knows  that  the  streams  of  immigrant 
blood  have  brought  health  and  wealth  to  the  Amer- 
ican body  politic.  Everybody  knows  that  they  have 
brought  disease  and  poverty  as  well.  Immigration  is 
both  an  asset  and  a menace.  And  you  know  how 
wonderfully,  with  what  incredible  success,  America 
does  receive  the  millions  from  the  Old  World,  how 
she  makes  Americans  of  them,  and  how  they  become 
a part  of — an  integral  and  infinitely  valuable  part  of 
— the  American  stock.  But  you  know  just  as  well 
that  the  success  is  not  complete.  The  task  is  so 
gigantic  that  it  may  strain  all  American  resources 
of  nerve  and  brain,  American  institutions,  and  the 
American  love  of  liberty.  Put  it  at  the  best,  be  as 
optimistic  as  you  will,  say  that  America  is  not  going 
to  fail  in  this  task  of  assimilating  the  millions  from 
the  Old  World — at  least  you  will  admit  that  America 
has  just  about  as  much  as  she  can  do ! It  is  admitted 
that  the  task  which  we  have  already  set  ourselves 
is  gigantic ; it  is  not  for  the  good  of  the  human  race 
that  we  should  deliberately  make  it  impossible,  that 
American  institutions  and  American  civilisation 
should  be  overwhelmed  and  destroyed.  With  this 
view,  I repeat,  Japan  must  sympathise. 

And  Japan  does  sympathise  with  us.  Japan  un- 


20  Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply 


derstands.  What  is  called  the  Gentlemen’s  Agree- 
ment of  1907,  by  which  Japan  herself  undertakes  to 
prohibit  the  emigration  of  laborers  from  her  country 
to  American  shores,  has  been  faithfully  observed  by 
her.  Japan  has  not  violated  the  agreement.  And 
Japan  has  no  intention  of  violating  it.  That  which 
hurts  Japan  is  what  I have  called  the  policy  of  pin 
pricks.  We  are  practising  a discrimination  which 
wounds  her  sensitive  pride  and  assails  her  honor. 
Make  your  laws  equal  in  their  treatment  of  alien 
races,  so  that  what  applies  to  one  country  will  apply 
to  another,  and  there  will  be  no  ground  of  offence. 
Japan  says  in  effect,— “You  have  a perfect  right  to 
make  your  own  decisions  and  to  fortify  those  de- 
cisions by  law.  Only,  do  not  single  us  out  for  treat- 
ment to  which  you  do  not  subject  other  nations. 
Treat  us  as  you  treat  others ; and  then,  whatever  the 
treatment  may  be,  you  will  hear  from  us  no  com- 
plaint.” 

Has  not  the  time  come  for  us  to  take  a wide  view, 
comprehensive,  statesmanlike,  a new  view  of  all  these 
questions  of  immigration,  and  of  all  questions  of 
policy  related  to  immigration,  actual  or  possible?  I 
suggest  to  you  that  the  time  has  come  when  we  might 
substitute  a world-view  and  an  American  policy  for 
hand  to  mouth  arrangements  and  rule  of  thumb  leg- 
islation. Is  it  not  possible  to  meet  every  difficulty 
with  a policy  which  shall  be  satisfactory  to  the  best 
mind  of  America,  from  the  mind  represented  by  the 


Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply  21 


labor  union  to  that  represented  by  the  patriot  and 
the  cosmopolitan,  with  world-wide,  universal  sym- 
pathies? I believe  it  is  possible.  Looking  over  the 
world  of  Europe  as  ivell  as  the  world  of  Asia,  our 
own  Dr.  Guliek,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  men  of  our 
generation,  has  outlined  “a  new  policy  for  Amer- 
ica.”* In  brief,  it  comes  to  this: 

A new  general  immigration  law  which  shall  restrict 
immigration  to,  say,  five  per  cent  of  the  number  of 
persons  of  that  nationality  already  naturalised  here 
with  their  children.  Five  per  cent  is  chosen  arbi- 
trarily, and  some  other  proportion  might  conceivably 
be  as  good  or  better.  The  idea  is  that  persons  from 
abroad  are  assimilated  and  Americanised  most  suc- 
cessfully in  proportion  to  the  number  of  their  own 
race  already  here  as  citizens.  Calculation  shows 
that  this  percentage  would  reduce  the  number  of 
those  now  being  received  from  the  south  and  south- 
east of  Europe.  It  would  allow  of  larger  numbers 
from  the  north  and  northwest  of  Europe.  And  it 
would  bring  the  whole  matter  within  manageable 
proportions. 

As  to  those  nationalities  which  have  no  representa- 
tives yet  naturalised  in  the  United  States,  a number 
might  again  be  arbitrarily  fixed — 500  or  for  that 
matter  5,000 — each  year  until  an  agreed  number  are 
with  us  and  have  become  part  of  the  American  stock. 


*“The  American- Japanese  Problem,”  by  Sidney  L.  Guliek. 


22  Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply 


when  the  percentage  rule  would  come  into  play. 

And  this,  as  you  see,  would  involve  the  admission 
of  Japanese  to  citizenship.  But  in  how  small  num- 
bers ! In  numbers  so  small  as  not  to  affect  the  body 
of  American  life.  If  I take  a eup  of  water  and  pour 
it  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  as  a matter  of  actual  fact, 
there  is  more  water  in  the  ocean  than  there  was 
before.  To  all  intents  and  purposes  there  is  not. 
And  the  tiny  trickling  stream  of  hundreds  or  even 
of  a few  thousands  into  the  great  current  represented 
by  close  upon  a hundred  millions  of  human  beings 
would  be  infinitesimal,  unrecognisable ; there,  in  fact, 
yet  in  its  potentialities  hardly  there  at  all.  But  the 
hurtful,  hateful  discrimination  would  be  done  away 
and  every  ground  of  offence  removed. 

And  now  it  will  be  thought  that  this  raises  ques- 
tions of  assimilation,  intermarriage,  intermixture. 
These  cannot  be  discussed  in  a single  sermon.  I con- 
tent myself  with  saying  that  the  assertion  that  the 
Japanese  will  not  assimilate  with  us  is  a statement 
notoriously  untrue,  and  that  everybody  who  has 
really  studied  the  question  knows  it  is  untrue.  While 
as  to  intermarriage,  the  question  does  not  now  arise. 
I have  not  overlooked  it,  and  if  it  were  necessary  I 
should  be  prepared  to  discuss  it.  The  essential  thing 
is  to  broaden  out  our  minds  and  hearts,  rid  ourselves 
of  sectarian  and  provincial  narrowness,  and  seek  to 
harmonise  our  practices  with  our  professions  of  uni- 
versal brotherhood: — in  a word,  to  show  ourselves 
good  Americans  and  good  Christians. 


Japan’s  Message  to  America  and  America’s  Reply  23 


Then  I come  to  America’s  reply  to  Japan.  What 
should  it  be?  I have  no  authority  to  speak  for  any- 
body but  myself,  but  I have  a right  to  speak  my  own 
convictions.  I am  under  no  obligation  to  say  to  you 
the  things  that  you  would  like  to  hear.  But  then, 
neither  are  you  under  any  obligation  to  agree  with 
me.  I am  only  under  bonds  to  say  nothing  to  you 
carelessly,  frivolously.  I must  speak  with  a due 
sense  of  responsibility,  and  you  have  a perfect  right 
to  repudiate  my  views  if  they  seem  to  you  unsound. 
This  is  the  reply  which  in  my  judgment  America 
should  make  to  Japan: 

We  recognise  your  splendid  ability,  your  marvellous 
and  mighty  achievements.  Your  valor  proved  on  land  i 
and  sea  attests  a race  of  heroes.  Your  victories  in  the  j 
arts  of  civilisation,  in  literature,  in  commerce,  in  the  ■ 
pursuits  of  peace  reveal  your  genius. 

We  condemn  insolent  assertions  of  race  superiority. 
We  refuse  to  discuss  questions  of  superiority  and  in- 
feriority, of  higher  and  lower.  God  has  made  of  one 
every  nation  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth. 
You  with  us  are  the  Father’s  children. 

We  recognise  your  mission  as  harmoniser  of  East  ' 
and  West.  You  have  to  interpret  the  one  to  the  other. 
We  have  taken  our  law  from  Rome,  our  art  from 
Greece,  our  religion  from  the  Jew.  The  English  have 
been  the  colonisers.  God  has  called  America  to  teach 
liberty  to  mankind.  And  it  may  be  that  our  Father  in 
heaven  has  called  Japan  to  harmonise  eastern  and  ! 


24  Japan's  Message  to  America  and  America's  Reply 


western  civilisations  to  the  end  of  the  unification  of 
the  world. 

We  sincerely  desire  your  friendship.  Our  profes- 
sions are  not  mere  words.  We  accept  your  professions 
of  friendship  at  their  face  value.  We  believe  you 
mean  what  you  say.  We  mean  what  we  say.  We 
wish  to  live  in  amity  with  you.  We  wish  to  strive 
with  you  only  in  the  healthy  rivalries  of  peace  and  to 
he  friends  with  you  on  land  and  sea. 

We  condemn  tl  3 insulting  policies  of  short-sighted 
and  selfish  politic,  ns.  We  have  ourselves  no  part  in 
them.  We  believe  that  they  are  mistaken  where  they 
are  not  vicious  and  v'fious  where  they  are  not  mis- 
taken. 

We  declare  that  it  v our  intention  to  oppose  these 
policies  everywhere,  a id  to  do  all  that  lies  in  our 
power  to  defeat  them.  We  have  good  reason  at  the 
present  moment  for  believing  that  a check  has  been 
placed  upon  these  sinister  movements  and  that  you  are 
likely  to  hear  less  of  them  in  the  coming  days.  We 
have  reason  for  saying  that  a better  spirit  is  obtaining 
and  wiser  counsel  prevailing. 

And  we  publicly  pledge  ourselves,  now  and  in  the 
coming  years,  to  seek  to  infiuence  our  fellow  citizens, 
the  men  and  women  of  the  United  States,  to  the  end 
that  all  racial  antagonism  shall  be  done  away,  and  that 
America  at  least  shall  live  as  befits  a people  who  pro- 
claim the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brotherhood 
of  Man.  ' . 


